Foam base for furniture



D. WAXMAN FOAM BASE FOR FURNITURE Filed Jan. 11, 1961 May 7, 1963 INVENTOR DAVID WAX MAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,088,133 FOAM BASE FOR FURNITURE David Waxrnan, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Continental Furniture Manufacturing Co., Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Jan. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 82,089 1 Claim. (Cl. -361) This invention relates to new and improved foam based furniture and provides for a new and useful full foam base for chairs, sofas, divans, etc. in which the principal characteristic of the foam base is that there is provided the usual open frame usually made of wood, the same having springs or other supporting members secured thereto across the top thereof, these being in generally substantially horizontal condition and support ing thereon a complete full, deep foam base which is preferably made of expanded soft yielding resilient plastic material or foam rubber, the same being upholstered and forming the base for the loose cushions normally used in upholstered furniture, thus providing a much longer lasting and more comfortable seating construction in which the resiliency of the base is substantially permanent and providing a construction which does not wear out due to flexing as is the case with the conventional prior art metal spring constructions which are tied together in many different ways and which eventually upon continued flexure become dislodged or disrupted from the base or from the upholstery covering the same.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a foam base for furniture as described above in which at the front or forward edge thereof there is provided an upstanding portion preferably having a downwardly and inwardly directed inclined edge to which the upholstery for the foam base may be conveniently cemented forming a permanent unit with the underlying wooden base; the provision of means for cementing a fabric to the under side of the foam base, such fabric being thereafter secured to the underlying rigid frame and the upstanding front edge providing an additional stiffness at the forward edge of the base, it being recognized that this portion of the base is ordinarily flexed to the greatest extent during use and also providing a straight smooth and clear line between the base and the superposed separable or loose cushions so that there is no unsightly gap at the forward edge of the article of furniture and at the same time doing away with and completely avoiding the expensive sewed-on constructions of the prior art which eventually rip out or fail due to breaks.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which- FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation showing an article of furniture according to the present invention, parts being cut away;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale through the new base illustrating the same in upholstered condition;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a corner construction for use in cases where the seat portion of the furniture is desired to extend out beyond the armrest portion thereof, and

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view illustrating the means for securing the foam base to the underlying rigid frame.

In carrying out the present invention, there is provided what may amount to a conventional open wooden frame generally indicated at 10. This frame has a forward member 12 and a corresponding rear member 14 which extend substantially the length of the base whether the ice piece of furniture is a sofa or a chair, these forward and rear members being connected by like end pieces.

In the present case, there may be provided at the top of the frame certain supports such as slats, springs or the like, and these are normally horizontal and may extend from front to rear in any construction desired, this being indicated by the reference numeral 16. These springs or slats are mounted on the top portions of the forward and rear parts of the frame at 12 and 14, or they may be applied in any other way desired. These springs or slats rest directly upon the frame members and can be secured thereto in any way desired or convenient.

The foam base forming the principal part of the present invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 18 and it is preferably composed of a main expanded plastic member which extends from the rear or right in FIG. 2. almost completely to the left-hand end thereof. It is of substantial thickness and forms the spring base for the loose cushions which are indicated at 2%), these pillows being ordinarily of greater vertical dimension at the centers rthereof than at the edges as clearly shown in FIG. 2.

At the forward edge of the foam base 18, the same is provided with an upwardly extending portion 22 which has a vertical forward face conforming to the forward face in general of the foam base 18 and has a rearwardly inclined surface 214 which extends downwardly and inwardly as plainly shown in the drawing of FIG. 2.

At the forward face, however, it is preferred to apply an upright foam rubber member 26 which in effect provides a stiffening member particularly in a vertical direction so that the forward edge of the sofa will be a little stiffer and this of course is enhanced by the reason of the upward projection 22 which provides an additional amount of foam plastic material as compared to the rest of the area of the foam base.

The foam base is initially provided with strips of fabric or similar material adhesively secured thereto at the bottom edges thereof. These are shown in FIG. 4 as loose pliant strips 28, 30 which are adhesively secured along adjacent edges thereof at 32 to the underlying edges of the foam base 18. When the foam base is applied to the underlying wooden frame 12, these strips are then secured in any way to the forward face of the base as is indicated at 34 in FIG. 2 by tacking, stapling, cementing, or any other desired means. These strips 28 and 30 may extend all the way around the base and securely and permanently hold the foam base 18 to the underlying structure 10 with the foam base than resting upon the cross pieces 16. If desired, the members 28 and 30 shown in FIG. 4 may extend under the lower edges of the frame members 10, 12 and 14.

The foam base 18 is provided with upholstery material which is indicated generally =by the reference numeral 36. This upholstery material may be applied by adhesively securing the same on the surface of the incline at 24, thus making a clean, neat, upper upholstered surface for the foam base, the upholstery fabric closely engaging the foam base. This upholstery material ex tends down over the front, rear and sides of the foam base and may then be secured by any desired means to the frame 10 as for instance tacking or otherwise securing at turned-up edges 38 or the like, and this provides a single unitary foam base which is complete and ready for the application of the loose cushions 20 thereto.

It will be noted that there is no stitching involved in the fabrication of the foam base and therefore continued fiexure which disrupts such stitching in prior art constructions does no damage with the new construction described above and shown in the drawings which is extremely long-lasting, greatly enhanced in appearance over the prior art, and is extremely comfortable for the occupants. The line between the foam base at the forward edges thereof indicated by the reference numeral 40 in conjunction with the forward edge of the loose cushions is a straight clean-cut line with no gap of any kind and this enhances the appearance of the furniture to a high degree.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

Article of furniture comprising an open frame including a forward edge, a rear edge, and sides, said frame including a vertical depending front member and a vertical depending rear member, said members extending substantially the length of the frame, a horizontal support on the frame, a relatively thick foamed soft resilient base substantially permanently mounted on and coextensive with said support, said base being attached to said frame, upholstery material for said base and said vertical frame members, said upholstery material being adhesively secured to the foamed material and adhesively secured to the frame members, covering the same, a soft thickened portion at the forward edge portion of said base, said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,061,664 Lincoln Nov. 24, 1936 2,713,892 Knapp July 26, 1955 2,913,041 Mathison Nov. 17, 1959 2,980,168 Ross Apr. 18, 1961 3,009,172 Eidam Nov. 21, 1961 3,070,402 Stanton Dec. 25, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,148,287 France June 17, 1957 778,032 Great Britain July 3, 1957 

